Is bitterleaf remedy for diabetes

Its taste in soups is distinct and can be easily identified by the sweet bitterness. In most parts of Nigeria, it is a very unique vegetable leaf known as Vernonia amydalia found and grown even in backyard gardens.

Bitterleaf is a well-known traditional ingredient in many African soups and its unique taste distinguishes it from many other ingredients used for preparing soups across the continent.

Among the Igbo, it is called onugbu; the Hausa call it shiwaka; and among the Yoruba, it is known as ewuro. A lot has been said and written about this wonderful vegetable, which is considered a vital natural resource mankind has ever known.

According to the coordinator of the Research Institute of Traditional and Alternative Medicines (RITAM), Olajuwon Okubena, in his speech during the World Traditional Medicine Day, “Ewuro is one natural vegetable that our fathers used to prepare traditional medicines for the cure of certain ailments such as stomach ache, heart diseases and even diabetes, and we have equally used the plant for many years and it has worked.”

The juice of the bitterleaf, said Okubena, has remained a vital ingredient in preparing a lot of traditional medicines that are now packaged and registered by the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), recommending the herbal product as a regular cleanser that must be taken “for longevity and great value”.

According to some studies carried out by researchers at the University of Jos (UNIJOS) and published in theJournal of Pharmacy & Bioresources, the crude chloroform extract of the leaves of bitterleaf has an anti-diabetic effect in rats with diabetes mellitus (Type 2 diabetes) under laboratory conditions.

Similarly, some other researchers in the Medical Journal of Islamic World Academy of Sciences reportedly observed that the administration of aqueous extract of bitter leaf at a concentration of 500 mg/kg of body weight significantly decreased the level of blood glucose. Its efficacy to lower blood glucose level was comparable with that of chlorpropamide, a standard drug used in the management of diabetes.

Recently, too, the Deputy Vice Chancellor of the Benson Idahosa University, Benin City, Professor Ernest Izevbigie, announced that the institution has got a patent to a new drug that has a bitterleaf base in the management of cancer, diabetes and prostate cancer.

But according to the president of the Diabetes Association of Nigeria (DAN), Dr. Sonny Chinenye, “it is true from studies that bitterleaf has the tendency to lower blood glucose level in diabetic patients, but there is a likelihood of false impression that it is a sure cure for diabetes”.

Explaining further, Dr. Chinenye noted that from his clinic experience, many people who rely on bitterleaf as cure for diabetes “are still diabetic and are still attending the clinic”.

According to him, “due to the level of the flavonoids and alkaloids in the leaf, studies have found the relationship with blood sugar reduction and not absolute cure for diabetes because those who indeed consume bitterleaf do not do so absolutely without any other diet.” WE HAVE IT FOR SELL YOU CAN CONATC US. bitterkola70@gmail.com